The other reviewers were doubtless sent a copy of the book, and they supplied the publishers with the review. I bought the book and the publishers probably don't know I reviewed it. Or it could be that the other reviews are better written!

As the 1824 Vagrancy Act is still on the books in England, I would imagine a lawyer defending you from a libel action could argue that calling someone sleeping rough 'a vagrant' was a strictly factual description and thus carried no imputation of abuse. Whether they would win the argument is a different question... probably one for a lawyer.

If you had taken the trouble to read " The Grass Arena ", you would see that John Heal
y made it very clear that he occupied a bench at Lincolns Inn Fields. The grass arena was the field at Lincolns Inn.

John was a member of the Hampstead Club for a number of years, after he had achieved fame for his literary works. Not the strong player that he laid claim. No stronger than 140 ECF.

I read The Grass Arena myself some years ago, I have to say I wasn't overly taken with it - I got through it, but I found it quite disjointed and rambling in places. Very little chess either, for those who are picking it up for that - about 2 pages mention near end.

The link mentions a brief chapter on chess at Parkhurst from
The Chess Player’s Bedside Book by R. Bott and S. Morrison
which per chance I only finished re-reading a few days ago when
hastily grabbing a bus-book for something to read.

Did a few stretches in the Army nick during my 9 years.
A couple of 10 days and a 21 days. AWOL and once for fighting and disturbing
the peace in Germany (that was in the wake of 3-2 1972 World Cup loss v
West Germany. Me and some mates got drunk and smashed things up in a German bar.)

They let me have a chess set, I heard one officer say:
"it's the only thing that appears to keep him out of trouble."
Me, a chess set and Clarke's book on Tal for 21 uninterrupted days. Bliss.

Never done any civilian time though been in Prison, Saughton loads of times
and once in Shotts playing the lads inside. I have a 100% record v the inmates.

Encouragement of chess behind bars undoubtedly has merit, but I don't think the proponents would want the results to look like this:

(Detail from "Giles" cartoon, Dec 1966)

Attachments

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"The chess-board is the world ..... the player on the other side is hidden from us ..... he never overlooks a mistake, or makes the smallest allowance for ignorance."
(He doesn't let you resign and start again, either.)

There was a subsequent loss to West Germany in the European Championships and the night the sixties party really ended at Wembley in 1973 with the Polish "clown" goalkeeper. It seemed immediately after that loss, that TV and the pubs starting shutting down at 10:30pm during the week, with the three day week to follow.